The present invention relates to a data processing system, and more particularly, a system for monitoring the information required for operating and controlling the data processing system.
Of a variety of modes of operation of data processing systems, the batch data processing method has been developed in order to develop software and to debug programs. A user must present to an operator a job entry or request card describing (1) a job request accepted time, (2) name, office and telephone number, (3) user's registration number, (4) machine or system to be used, (5) time allocation, (6) operating system to be used, e.g. job, program, user's input and output, (7) data handling medium to be used, (8) procedures and (9) time when job is completed. With this card the operator effects the following communications with a data processing system through a console type typewriter:
(1) job starting or completion message to the system, PA1 (2) job starting or completion message from the system, PA1 (3) job procedure (execution mode) message to the system, and PA1 (4) malfunction message (including erratic operation) from the system.
In order to increase the effective use of the data processing system by operating and controlling it in the manner described above, the operator must arrange the job schedule and must operate and control the system in an optimum manner. However, in general, the data processing system is not fully used. In order to attain the effective use of the data processing system, not only the optimum time allocation is needed but also the data control system must be operated and controlled based upon data pertaining to the actual utilization of the system.
Until now, data pertaining to the operation of the data processing system has been manually collected from the software or job cards, the central processing unit execution time and/or the communication information exchanged between the operator and the system in the manner described above being based upon information written on the job entry or request card.
The collected data has been manually analyzed to prepare statistical utilization data. Thus, the greater the number of data processing systems to be operated and controlled becomes, the more difficult and complicated the process for collecting, analyzing and summarizing the data pertaining to the operation of the data processing system becomes. For instance, there has been devised and demonstrated a data processing system consisting of two subsystems, one system being used for real time service and remote batch service while the other system is used for remote debugging or center batch service. In this system, main and auxiliary console type typewriters are provided for each subsystem, so that communication between the subsystem and the operator may be established. That is, the console type typewriters print out the operation records, malfunctions, and statistical data such as operating time, all required for the control of the data processing system. Even a data processing system consisting of two subsystems usually has more than four console type typewriters, and the job control information is distributed among four console type typewriters so that is is difficult to manually collect the required data and analyze the same for statistical purposes. If the number of data processing systems is increased, it becomes virtually impossible to manually collect and analyze the required data.